British Academy submits evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Higher Education and Research Bill

The British Academy has submitted a response to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Higher Education and Research Bill.

In its response to the Committee’s call for evidence, the British Academy recommends that the creation of UK Research and Innovation should drive forward an expanded role for research in the UK that is more strategic, coherent, and efficient, and on a larger scale. Research and innovation lie at the heart of economic growth, creativity and culture in the UK and will be crucial as the UK redefines its role in the world.

The Academy also sets out the concerns that it will monitor most closely as the Bill progresses through Parliament, which include:

• the interaction between teaching and research in the new funding architecture


• the protection of the Haldane Principle


• a broad sense of ‘science’ that champions the vital role played by the humanities and social sciences to our economy and society


• interdisciplinarity and UKRI

You can download the British Academy Response – Higher Education and Research Bill Public Bill Committee here.

The National Academies recently produced a briefing containing probing amendments to the Bill, available here. In order to support scrutiny of the Bill, the National Academies also produced a visual map of the proposed changes, available here.